The most important tick-deer system potentially supporting the epidemiology of Lyme disease in the Italian Alps is that regarding Ixodes ricinus (L.) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.). In this study, the pattern of tick infestation on 562 male roe deer harvested in Semptember 1994 in 56 game districts of Trentino, Nothern Italy, was assessed. The prevalence and density of infesttiion by I. ricinus were analyzed by a model based on classification and regression trees (CART), using both discrete and continuous variables concerning environmental and host parameters. The model discriminated altitude and host density as the 2 variables having the greatest effect on the prevalence and density of infestation in deer; the levels of infestation were higher at an altitude below 1125 m or at roe deer densietes over 8.5 head per 100 ha. The density of tick infestation tended to be higher in older roe deer
Ixodes Ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) Infestation on Roe Deer (Capreolus Capreolus) in Trentino, Italian Alps
Rizzoli, Annamaria;Merler, Stefano;Furlanello, Cesare;
1997-01-01
Abstract
The most important tick-deer system potentially supporting the epidemiology of Lyme disease in the Italian Alps is that regarding Ixodes ricinus (L.) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.). In this study, the pattern of tick infestation on 562 male roe deer harvested in Semptember 1994 in 56 game districts of Trentino, Nothern Italy, was assessed. The prevalence and density of infesttiion by I. ricinus were analyzed by a model based on classification and regression trees (CART), using both discrete and continuous variables concerning environmental and host parameters. The model discriminated altitude and host density as the 2 variables having the greatest effect on the prevalence and density of infestation in deer; the levels of infestation were higher at an altitude below 1125 m or at roe deer densietes over 8.5 head per 100 ha. The density of tick infestation tended to be higher in older roe deerI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
